GR-3160-CORE is NEBS Lite for Data Center Equipment

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GR-3160-CORE is NEBS Lite for Data Center Equipment

GR-3160-CORE, NEBS Requirements for Telecommunications Data Center Equipment and Spaces, is sometimes described as ‘NEBS Lite.’ It includes important reliability and safety requirements, without the full set of hurdles found in the NEBS telecom standards, like GR-1089-CORE and GR-63-CORE.

But what exactly are the differences for equipment evaluation? Following is a basic overview.

The test requirements are the same for NEBS and GR-3160 in these areas:

Acoustic Noise

Airflow

EFT

Energy Efficiency

ESD

Handling Shock

Illumination

Surface Temperature

In other areas, the test requirements for GR-3160 are looser or non-existent:

DC Power CompatibilityNEBS – Requires transient tests as well as DC noise emissions and immunityGR-3160 – Requirements for grounding of return conductor of centralized sources and DC-I configuration of loads

GR-3160 was created with input from 19 participating companies, including Verizon, AT&T, Telcordia, Dell, Intel, Juniper Networks, and Brocade. The committee’s goal was to focus on critical, high-value areas, relying on popular commercial standards when possible, and encouraging the use of well-designed and robust COTS equipment. Where testing can be avoided (e.g. earthquake), alternatives like the checklist are utilized. This approach takes advantage of data center infrastructure and network architecture redundancy.